Labeling of ceftriaxone for infective inflammation imaging using 99mTc eluted from 99Mo/99mTc generator based on zirconium molybdate.

Zirconium molybdate gel was prepared by mixing (99)Mo, produced from (98)Mo(n,gamma) reaction and Zr solutions in nitrate media with excess H(2)O(2), and used as the base material for (99)Mo/(99m)Tc generator. The prepared generator showed a good performance. (99m)Tc eluted from the prepared generator passed the quality control tests with specifications meeting the requirements of European and US Pharmacopeias. The (99m)Tc eluate was used for labeling of cephalosporin analogue, ceftriaxone, which was then assessed for infection imaging in a mouse model. (99m)Tc-ceftriaxone was prepared at pH 9 with a radiochemical yield of 95+/-2% by adding (99m)Tc to 30 mg ceftriaxone in the presence of 50 microg SnCl(2).2H(2)O. Biodistribution studies in mice were carried out using experimentally induced infection in the left thigh using E. coli. Both thighs of the mice were dissected and counted to evaluate the ratio of bacterial infected thigh/contralateral thigh. (99m)Tc-ceftriaxone showed high uptake in the infectious lesion (T/NT =5.6+/-0.6 at 4h post injection). The abscess to normal muscle ratio indicated that (99m)Tc-ceftriaxone could be used for infection imaging. Besides, in vitro studies showed that (99m)Tc-ceftriaxone can differentiate between bacterial infection and sterile inflammation.